In a film stuffed with kaiju, King Ghidorah is expected to be the biggest and baddest of the bunch. Godzilla: King of the Monsters hits theaters nationwide this weekend, and the film’s director and production designer, Michael Dougherty and Scott Chambliss, recently sat down with the folks at EW to talk about bringing the three-headed Ghidorah to life.
Despite being from another planet, Ghidorah is purposely humanized.
“Ghidorah is from another planet and he’s basically the heavy in the film,” says Chambliss. “One of the challenges was, we’re inundated with dragons in our culture right now. So, Ghidorah risks being the most ho-hum of [the monsters in the film]. What Michael did was, he played on the very human characteristics. He played on characteristics that we associate with human beings but he applied them to the monsters. Ghidorah, with his three heads, was an opportunity to have three different aspects of a generally similar creature.”
Dougherty eleborates:
“It was important to me that each of Ghidorah’s heads have a slightly different personality than the other,” says the filmmaker. “Just imagine if you had three dogs, all of the same species. I mean, it’s subtle. I used to have three dogs, and you sort of learn that they have very different ways of expressing themselves, even if they look alike. I loved the idea that each head did sort of have its own personality and quirks, with the center head being the alpha of the three. He’s the one who’s sort of the big brother and the most serious. And then, the other two are just a little bit different. One head is slightly more aggressive and tenacious. The other one displays signs of curiosity. So, in a lot of ways, they’re just like three triplets. You know, they have a lot of traits in common, but they all have their own unique way of reacting to a situation. Ghidorah, he’s a singular character with three distinct personalities and doing the mocap, the facial capture, that way just seemed to make the most sense. And it was a ton of fun too.”
King Ghidorah’s three heads are played by Alan Maxson, Richard Dorton, and Jason Liles using motion capture technologies.
Check out the synopsis and trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters below.
Synopsis:
Members of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species thought to be mere myths-rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity’s very existence hanging in the balance.
Directed by Trick ‘r Treat and Krampus‘ Michael Dougherty, who co-wrote the film with Zach Shields, Godzilla: King of the Monsters stars Vera Farmiga, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Thomas Middleditch, Charles Dance, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Aisha Hinds, and Zhang Ziyi.
This film has been rated PG-13 for sequences of monster action violence and destruction, and for some language. Look for Godzilla: King of the Monsters to demolish US box offices beginning May 31st.
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